The impact of the Australian flu on the brain: experts urge vaccination

Is the Australian flu dangerous for the brain? This new flu variant, together with RSV, Covid and pneumococcal pneumonia, are the main seasonal respiratory infections whose contributing factors may lead to an increase in encephalitis, especially among the elderly over 60 and people with chronic conditions. Infectious disease specialists urge vaccination. “It is important to remember that all influenza viruses can reach the central nervous system and therefore cause very severe and significant encephalitis,” explained Massimo Andreoni, scientific director of Simit, the Italian Association for Infectious and Tropical Diseases, during a meeting organized by Pfizer. for the launch of the ‘Get Used to Protect Yourself’ campaign, to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination against respiratory infections. Brain damage “The more severe the flu, the higher the number of cases involving the central nervous system,” he continues. “We have already seen in the other hemisphere, where winter arrives earlier than ours, that the Australian flu is a very serious disease with many cases, more than 15 million, and many hospital admissions, so based on this data we should fear that there will also be a particularly serious flu in Italy. In our country, an average of between 5,000 and 15,000 people die from the flu every year. Symptoms and mortality In Italy, diseases such as pneumonia and influenza are among the ten leading causes of death. However, vaccination coverage in the country remains unsatisfactory: according to a recent ECDC report, Italy ranks 16th to 17th out of 28 European countries in terms of coverage across different age groups, highlighting the urgency to improve vaccination adherence. “We expect a peak of flu and flu-like syndromes after the holidays. Promoting a culture of prevention is essential,” continues Roberta Siliquini, President of the Italian Association for Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SitI). “An effective vaccination campaign, careful planning and widespread organization are needed to ensure that every citizen has access to available protection against major respiratory viruses.” As for the Australian flu, the same rules of protection apply: “We must always maintain the same measures, prevent the spread of the virus by walking around without a mask, wash our hands, but above all protect ourselves with the vaccine, because it has a certain type of immune response to reduce the severity of the disease,” she concludes. Peak after the holidays. Among the diseases that, according to Siliquini, are more widespread this autumn-winter, “the flu, SARS-CoV-2, which is no longer so seasonal, has peaks even outside the autumn-winter, and the respiratory syncytial virus, That is not only dangerous for adults and vulnerable people, but also for newborns.” For Siliquini, “an effective vaccination campaign, careful planning and widespread organization are necessary to ensure that every citizen has access to available protection against major respiratory viruses.” As for the Australian flu, the same rules of protection apply: “We must always maintain the same measures, prevent the spread of the virus by walking around without a mask, wash our hands, but above all protect ourselves with the vaccine, because it has a certain type of immune response to reduce the severity of the disease,” she concludes. Lungs, throat and brain “At the San Martino outpatient clinic in Genoa we have a first case of the H3N2 virus in a 76-year-old patient who was hospitalized for infectious diseases and who could not even recognize his wife. One of the first symptoms were he reported that he could not taste food while eating. The flu season does not bode well; this is a virus that affects not only the lungs and throat, but also the brain. This is an important finding already from Australia has emerged and for which there is evidence of the tropism of H3N2,” Matteo Bassetti, Director of Infectious Diseases at the San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa, told Adnkronos Salute “That is why we need to vaccinate, because if we had more cases like this , or even encephalitis and neurological involvement from the flu, hospitals would face an overflow of patients and a difficult situation,” Bassetti emphasizes.